HARDY named Songwriter of the Year
Philadelphia native Michael Hardy, who performs under the mononym HARDY, took home the Songwriter of the Year honor from the 2022 Academy of Country Music Awards Monday night in Las Vegas.
He beat out Jesse Frasure, Nicolle Galyon, Ashley Gorley, and Josh Osborne to win it. The 2022 ACM Awards were held in Las Vegas’s Allegiant Stadium.
Hardy sat down for a chat with the website Outsider’s Marty Smith on The Marty Smith Podcast. On there, Smith talks with Hardy about the inspiration for his song “Give Heaven Some Hell.”
Smith shared how the song stirred some thoughts about a late friend of his. Now, they also talk about what was running through Hardy’s mind while writing it. Both men talked about how growing up in Mississippi shaped HARDY’s view of the world. He also talked about playing baseball.
HARDY did release his first EP back in 2018. His first album is titled Hixtape Vol.1 and was dropped in 2019. HARDY released a sophomore album titled A Rock back in 2021.
The country music artist has written hit songs for some of the top mainstream country music artists. That does include “God’s Country” for Blake Shelton. Also, he has penned a couple of hit songs for Florida Georgia Line and even several for Morgan Wallen.
But the fact that Hardy knows what it takes to write songs is amazing. In fact, they have found their way to the top of the country music charts. So, it would not be surprising to see Hardy dominate the charts himself in the coming years.
He is definitely getting some buzz from critics and fans alike. And it appears that they are all in one voice with their approval of his work.
What about the songs on his releases? Well, they are usually fun, clever, and even tongue-in-cheek at times.
He remains fun to listen to and does know how to work the country music system. His name will probably be around for a long time to come.
Hardy is the son of Mike and Sarah Hardy, formerly of Philadelphia and now of Nashville. His grandparents are Joyce and Bobby Hardy of Philadelphia.